1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner, and more particularly, to a brush head of a vacuum cleaner which can pivot in a horizontal direction as well as a vertical direction with respect to a suction pipe.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a vacuum cleaner is an apparatus to suck and collect dust or dirt by means of a negative pressure caused by an operation of a vacuum pump, thereby cleaning a floor, etc. The vacuum cleaner includes a suction pipe which is detachably connected with a front end of a flexible hose mounted to a main body, and a brush head which is detachably coupled with a front end of the suction pipe.
Such a brush head sucks and removes dirt on a floor by means of a roller brush, etc. mounted thereinside, and increases a suction area so as to perform efficiently a cleaning process.
An illustrative brush head of a vacuum cleaner is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,537,424, issued Aug. 27, 1985, which will be described herein with reference to FIG. 1.
As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional brush head 1 of a vacuum cleaner comprises a shell-shaped joint pan 3 which is mounted to a rear portion of a brush head body 2, and a hollow cylindrical joint head 4 which is rotatably mounted in the joint pan 3 while contacting with the inner surface of the joint pan 3. That is, an axis which extends in the longitudinal direction of the joint head is parallel with the floor surface. And, bores 6 are perforated at central portions of discs 5 which are respectively coupled to both opened sides of the joint head 4.
Also, a front end of a receiving part 8, into which the suction pipe 7 is detachably inserted, penetrates a side surface of the joint head 4 to extend thereinside, and is formed with a bore (not shown) in alignment with the bores 6 of the discs 5.
In addition, a pivot shaft (not shown) is inserted into the bores 6 of the discs 5 coupled to the joint head 4 and the bore of the receiving part 8 receiving the suction pipe 7, so that the brush head body 2 can pivot in a vertical direction about the pivot shaft with respect to the suction pipe 7.
As a result, since the brush head 1 is mounted pivotably in a vertical direction with respect to the suction pipe 7, the bottom surface of the brush head 1 always contacts closely with the floor regardless of a tilting angle of the suction pipe 7 with respect to the floor.
However, in the conventional brush head of a vacuum cleaner structured as above, the brush head 1 is fixed to the suction pipe 7 by forming somewhat of a xe2x80x9cTxe2x80x9d shape, and is unable to pivot in a horizontal direction. Accordingly, the conventional brush head 1 cleans effectively only a broad floor without any obstacles thereon, however, the brush head 1 can not clean an area, e.g. a space between a furniture and a wall, narrower than the width of the brush head 1, because the brush head 1 can not be inserted thereinto.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a brush head of a vacuum cleaner which can pivot in a horizontal direction as well as a vertical direction with respect to a suction pipe, so as to easily clean an area narrower than the width of the brush head.
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a brush head of a vacuum cleaner comprising a body which is detachably coupled to a suction pipe and is formed with a suction hole for sucking dust; a fixing means, one end of which is detachably coupled to the suction pipe; a pivoting means, one end of which is fixedly coupled to the body and the other end of which is coupled to the other end of the fixing means pivotably in a horizontal direction, the pivoting means pivoting together with the body; and a coupling means which is mounted to the fixing means and the pivoting means to support securely the connection therebetween.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the fixing means is implemented as a cylindrical pivot supporting member, one end of which is detachably coupled to the suction pipe, the pivoting means is implemented as a hollow cylindrical pivoting part which is integrally formed with the body at a rear central portion of the body and into which the pivot supporting member is inserted, the pivoting part pivoting in a horizontal direction with respect to the pivot supporting member, and the coupling means is implemented as a pair of elastic members, one end of each elastic member is caught on the pivot supporting member and the other end of each elastic member is caught on the body, the pair of elastic members being disposed symmetrically on both sides of the body.
The pivot supporting member is formed with a communicating space at its peripheral wall, which communicates with the suction hole and the suction pipe, and is provided with a roller at its rear bottom surface. A supporting shaft which is inserted into the pivot supporting member to support the pivoting movement of the pivoting part protrudes upward from a central portion of a lower surface of the pivoting part. And, a roller receiving cut which receives the roller is formed along a periphery of the lower surface of the pivoting part, through which the roller can contact continuously with a floor.
Preferably, the roller receiving cut is formed at the circumferential angle of 180xc2x0 at the rear bottom surface of the pivoting part.
A fixing pin is perpendicularly inserted in the pivot supporting member at a front upper portion thereof, the upper end of the fixing pin being exposed outside so that one end of each elastic member is caught thereon together, and a pair of column-shaped supporting protuberances protrude upward symmetrically at the body, adjacently to each lateral end of the body, on which the other end of each elastic member is caught respectively.
Preferably, the elastic member is an elastic band which is made from a silicon resin material.
Between the suction pipe and the pivot supporting member provided is a connecting member, one end of which is detachably coupled to the suction pipe and the other end of which is hingedly coupled to the pivot supporting member. The connecting member is provided with a pair of pivot shafts which protrude from both sides of the connecting member respectively so that the body can pivot in a vertical direction with respect to the suction pipe.
And, a cover is coupled to the upper portion of the pivoting part for shielding the pivot supporting member, and the cover is formed with a vertical cut at its rear portion through which the connecting member passes, thereby the body pivoting in a vertical direction with respect to the suction pipe.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, the pivoting means is implemented as a pivoting coupler which is coupled to the body pivotably in a vertical direction at a rear central portion of the body, the fixing means is implemented as a fixing coupler, one end of which is detachably coupled to the suction pipe and the other end of which is coupled to the pivoting coupler, and the coupling means is implemented as a hinge screw which is fastened to the pivoting and fixing couplers so that the pivoting coupler can pivot in a horizontal direction with respect to the fixing coupler.
One end of the pivoting coupler is disposed inside the body and is formed with a curved vertical pivoting part so that the body can pivot in a vertical direction, the other end of the pivoting coupler is disposed at a rear central portion of the body and is formed with a circular first air hole which communicates with the suction hole, and a hollow female holder is disposed inside the first air hole and protrudes upward from the central portion of a bottom surface of the pivoting coupler.
The fixing coupler includes a circular second air hole which is of equal size and formed opposed to the first air hole, the second air hole communicating with the suction pipe, a pivot supporting part which is disposed lower than the second air hole and received in the first air hole when the fixing coupler is coupled to the pivoting coupler, and a male holder which protrudes downward from an upper surface of the pivot supporting part and is inserted into the hollow female holder formed in the first air hole, the male holder being formed with a screw hole thereinside in a longitudinal direction.
And, the hinge screw penetrates the bottom surface of the pivoting coupler and is fastened into the screw hole of the male holder which is inserted into the female holder.